the only two coaching jobs that Chris Peterson would take a real serious consideration are Oregon and Cal. He may have to wait until the season is over for Oregon job because Chip Kelly is almost as good as gone to the NFL.

The SF Bay Area is the #4 media market in the USA. Cal won't deliver that market, any more than Rutgers will deliver the NY market, but much as with Rutgers/NY, there are a boatload of Big Ten alums in the Bay Area who could help deliver some fraction of it. Cal's athletic department is deeply in the red, much as Maryland's is, and they'd love a chance to increase those revenues. Amazingly, going after Cal looks like it makes every bit as much sense as going after Rutgers and Maryland did!

Football allows the intellectual part of my brain to evolve, but it allows the emotional part to remain unchanged. And this is all I want from everything, all the time, always. --Chuck Klosterman

I can't believe Petrino hasn't been rehired yet. Literally. He has no probation, committed no NCAA violation, and is one of the best college coaches in the country. I look at the coaches schools picked over him last year and roflmao. Somebody had better pick him up before their rival school does.

He got fired at the last possible moment before the current season, hence the panicked (and unfortunately necessary) promotion of John L Smith to interim head coach. Given the timing of his firing, Petrino hasn't entered into the hiring cycle yet, so no one has passed him over.

We might consider the whole mistress episode to be irrelevant to his ability to coach a football team, but it could really be an issue in conservative states like Tennessee. Cal-Berkeley, on the other hand, doesn't care who you're banging.

"[T]he Spirit of Michigan. It is based upon ... a conviction that nowhere is there a better university, in any way, than this Michigan of ours." - F. Yost

Having the AD hire her without knowing about their relationship and lying on a police report is harder to overcome. He'll get another chance, but probably it'll be a job beneath his record, like Mike Leach. Leach isn't doing any favors to coaches looking for a second chance either.

But it's pretty fair to question his judgement at this point. Besides the reason he's not working today, he had that whole "ditched his team in the middle of the season" thing with the Falcons which rubs real football people the wrong way. Someone who wants to win at all costs will take a chance on him, but there will be some scared off by him.

Plus, if you're a really good program, what makes you think he won't leave the first chance he gets since he did so to an NFL team?

.......seems to be prevalent in the SEC. I can see Tennessee being extremely interested in Petrino, and possibly even Auburn, when they fire Chizik. Hell, maybe even Kentucky will take the flier on Petrino, betting that he keeps it in his pants long enough to turn them into more than cannon-fodder for the rest of that conference.

No way, though, that I see Petrino going to Cal. Cal looks over at their main rival Stanford and sees what they want and need in a coach, and will move to get someone similar. Not sure who yet, but it ain't gonna be Petrino.

I think your last paragraph is accurate. I went to Cal for undergrad. The mentality there is closer to "don't embarrass the school at all costs". In the AD's statement today, the decline in the graduation rate was mentioned near the top. The alumni would probably run the entire administration out on a rail if Petrino were even brought in for an interview.

When you look at the sheer volume of NFL talent he's had versus the performance on the field, it's alarming. Other than 2004, when they went 10-2 with Aaron freaking Rodgers as their quarterback, they were never better than mediocre, and getting worse over time. Here are the records, with the current NFL players resulting.

On talent alone, the 2007, 2009, 2010, and 2011 teams have to be four of the most under-performing teams of the last 20 years. Just unbelievably loaded, and they couldn't get it done on the field, ever. Brilliant recruiter and developer of talent. Terrible game-day coach.

I think it's tough to conclude that Cal underperformed based solely on that list. Most of those draft classes feature one or two good players but very little depth. I would bet that a lot of mediocre BCS schools feature similar classes. One or two good players doesn't make a team - or have we forgotten that Brandon Graham went 13th overall after playing for 3-9 and 5-7 Michigan teams?

That's not a Brandon Graham situation. You're talking about 5-6 NFL starters both years. In 2009 at Michigan, it was Graham and nothing else. In 2007, Cal was pre-season #5 based on what they had done the year before, the returning talent, and the recruiting pipeline. They just didn't do anything on the field. 2010 was very similar.

I don't see Tedford as a horrible coach. He took an awful program and turned it into something relevant and seriously challenged a USC team that paid its way to the top. This could be a serious Minnesota/Glen Mason situation.

Coach Doeren at Northern Illinois. He's 21-4 in his first two years, MAC Championship last year, MAC West Champions this year and will play for another MAC Championship. If not after this year definitely after the following he'll be moving on. He's done a great job there so far.

I think the ball is in Louisville's court. They need to join the Big Twelve immediately. If Louisville is in a BCS conference I think Strong stays. From what I hear around the Louisville program, Louisville gave him a shot when no one else would and he wants to prove everyone who passed him over wrong.

...it had escaped me that Cal vs Stanford a/k/a The Game on the west coast, was moved to mid-season. What an abomination. Let that never, ever happen to us. Let us punish, severely, anyone who speaks of it or even thinks of it. Now there really is only one "The Game." Okay, two:

I foresee you being pissed. I almost guarantee the game changes date. I don't want it to but I'm just feeling that it will happen to prevent any 2 games in a row scenario. There won't be any cross divisional matchups to end the season post 2014.